Florida Time: Exploring the heavens with Jules Verne and Florida’s space history

Over the next few weeks, expect to be informed with both historical features and live coverage of events marking the 50th anniversary of the moment on July 16, 1969, when a rocket roared into the sky above Cape Canaveral. And the moment four days later when Neil Arsmtrong stepped on the moon.

But why was the space program there?

Let’s go all the way back to the time of the U.S. Civil War and to a world-renowned writer who lived and worked across the sea, in France. His name: Jules Verne.

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In his 1865 novel, “From the Earth to the Moon,” a huge projectile sprang from a deep hole in the earth and shot through the sky, disappearing into the clouds as it headed to the moon. Its launch had shaken the ground with the power of an earthquake and thrown thousands of people down with an explosion so bright it could be seen across Florida.

Florida?

Yep. Verne picked Florida for his imaginary launch of two Americans and a Frenchman. Not Cape Canaveral, but along the Alafia River in Lithia about 20 miles east of downtown Tampa.

There's no evidence Verne ever visited the Tampa area. But his selection of Florida eerily follows the reasons the “Space Coast” was picked.

Verne wrote that his spaceship -- little more than a hollow cannonball -- must be fired from a spot between the equator and the 28th parallel north. His organizers agreed it should occur in the United States. And the only U.S. soil extending far enough south was in Texas and Florida.

The Florida of Verne's world was sparsely populated and ringed with forts to fight off Seminole attacks. While several southern Texas cities made pitches, Verne's imaginary launch officials decided just one Florida location worked.

Teams traveled 12 miles inland to "Stone's Hill," which historians say is imaginary. After months of work, a 60-foot wide, 900-foot deep underground cannon was completed, and at 10:46:40 p.m., on Nov. 30 of an unspecified year in the 1860s, and in a launch window Verne wrote would not return for 18 years, the projectile shot into the heavens.

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Verne was one of the world's first science fiction writers and this wasn't the first time he showed to be prophetic. Although he was ahead of Apollo 11 by a century, he hit on several key points of physical science that came into play during the real thing. And NASA officials have said he was way off on others.

The U.S. government had considered eight sites in all before settling on Cape Canaveral. All were roughly between the Equator and the 28th parallel, just as Verne picked. NASA says the range placed them roughly in the plane in which the earth and other planets circle the sun; in fact, the Kennedy Space Center is at 28.5.

The U.S. government's main considerations were proximity to water, a dearth of populated sites and alignment with a series of existing tracking stations. Tampa never was in the mix because it already had a large population and isn’t directly on the coast.

Verne’s biggest goof: launching west from Tampa across the Gulf of Mexico would go counter to the Earth's rotation. Because of the planet's spin, coordinators must "lead" the moon, aiming at where it will be rather than where it is -- the same way a football quarterback throws to a receiver.

Oh, wait. That wasn't Verne's biggest goof. The massive cannon blast Verne employed almost assuredly would have been fatal to all. NASA says the G-forces alone would have killed the astronauts if the explosion didn't.

READER REWIND: What's your Florida story? Share it with Eliot by leaving a voicemail at (850) 270-8418.

Next week: Preserving the space program’s right stuff

Last week: Cross Creek, beloved by author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, belongs to you

A reader asks: A neighbor from New York says when he and his family lived in Florida when he was a young child (1950s?) that no fish could be purchased at markets or restaurants on Friday, in an effort to prevent Catholics from having fish on their “meatless” day. I grew up in a small rural town in South Carolina in the 1940s and 1950s, and although there were only two Catholic families in our town, (also two Episcopal families, of which I was a member of one), our school cafeteria served fish every Friday! I cannot believe the story told by my neighbor but would truly like to know if he is correct in his recollection regarding “no fish on Friday” at a time in Florida. - William W., Venice

Eliot answers: Hi, Mr. Woods, for this question, I turned to my 86-year-old dad who's been both a journalist in, and resident of, South Florida since the late 1940s. While anti-Catholic fervor was strong in Florida in the early 20th century and such shenanigans would not be out of the question, neither my dad nor I ever has heard of such a scheme. Especially one in which most or all grocers and restaurants participated. Something like this would be even less likely by the 1950s as transplants from the northeast brought diversity to the state. If you or your friend have any evidence of the practice, I'd love to hear it. Thanks again for being a loyal reader.

Eliot Kleinberg has been a staff writer for the past three decades at The Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach, and is the author of 10 books about Florida (www.ekfla.com). Florida Time is a product of GateHouse Media and publishes online in their 22 Florida markets including Jacksonville, Fort Walton Beach, Daytona Beach, Lakeland, Sarasota and West Palm Beach. Submit your questions, comments or memories to FloridaTime@Gatehousemedia.com. Include your full name and hometown. Sorry; no personal replies.